


Riding In Cars With Boys

by tabbytabbytabby



Series: Prompts [24]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Good Theo Raeken, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Post-Canon, night drives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 12:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15796521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tabbytabbytabby/pseuds/tabbytabbytabby
Summary: When Theo gets woken up to a knock on his truck window he expects to see yet another deputy there to chase him off. Instead he finds Stiles, who can't sleep and insist on joining Theo on a drive he hadn't even planned to take. A drive which leads to some revelations about how they feel about themselves and each other.





	Riding In Cars With Boys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snaeken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snaeken/gifts).



> For Cal, who wanted to see "What happened to you?" "I grew up." with Scott or Stiles saying it to Theo. It just screamed Stiles at me, and here we are.

Theo groans and buries his face in his arm as a knock sounds on his window. It feels like he’s just fallen asleep and yet here he is, being woken up. _Again_. It never seems to stop. He really doesn’t know what this town's law enforcement has against a homeless kids just trying to get some sleep. He’d issue a complaint if he thought it would matter. But for all he knows it’s the Sheriff’s doing.

He waves an arm in the direction of the window as he sits up and rubs his eyes, “Yeah yeah. I’m going.”

“Going where?” Stiles’ confused voice sounds from outside the car.

Theo is suddenly much more awake, his eyes snapping in the direction of his window to see Stiles frowning as he peers down at him. He sits up fully and runs a hand through his hair before moving to crawl into the front seat. He frowns when there’s a tap at the passenger’s side window and Stiles gestures down at the lock.

Theo hits the unlock button and eyes Stiles curiously as he gets into the truck and closes the door. What’s more confusing is that he puts his seat belt on. “What are you doing?”

“You said you were going somewhere,” Stiles says with a shrug. “So let’s go.”

“I didn't exactly have any place in mind,” Theo says. He frowns when he notices that it’s going on 3 a.m. “What are you doing out here so late anyway?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” Stiles says. “Driving sometimes helps to clear my head. What about you?”

“I was trying to sleep,” Theo says.

“Can’t you just sleep at home?” Stiles asks.

Theo narrows his eyes, “Is this a joke? Did your Dad get tired of sending deputies to chase me off so he decided to just send you instead?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Theo growls. He starts the car and puts it into drive with a little bit too much force. He knows the Stiles problem will still be with him but he needs to do something. He can’t just sit here and be idle with Stiles questioning him. He pulls out onto the road, throwing his seatbelt on as he goes.

“It’s clear there’s something,” Stiles says. “Why would my Dad send me instead of deputies? Wait, has it happened before? With them showing up? How long have you…?”

Theo lets out a bitter laugh, “Oh, long enough. What did you all think happened? That I came back from hell with no parents, job, or money and just had a place to stay? No, I’ve been sleeping here and just trying to keep my head down, and coming to the packs beck and call. But even that isn’t enough for the deputies who seem to think a homeless kid trying to sleep is an inconvenience to them.”

“You could have talked to someone,” Stiles says.

Theo snorts, “Oh yeah? And who would actually give a shit? Huh? How can I expect anyone else to care when the people that are supposed to protect and serve this town keep hassling me just for being homeless? I can’t. No one gives a shit, and that’s fine.”

“What happened to you?” Stiles asks, his voice soft.

Theo glances at Stiles, his expression grim, “I grew up.”

“We’ve all grown up, Theo.” Stiles says, “But this feels different.”

“Because it _is_ different. I had to grow up fast. Living with the Dread Doctors didn’t exactly provide many opportunities to just be a kid. It’s hard to stay innocent when they convince you to kill your sister and then get to spend years watching them do their twisted experiments. It’s no wonder I got so fucked up. I was constantly having to go out of my way to prove myself to them and be useful out of fear that if I didn’t they’d decide I was a failure and kill me. You have no idea how easy you had it, Stiles.”

Theo curses when a fist connects with the side of his face and quickly rights the truck when it swerves. He glares over at Stiles to see him glaring right back, “What the hell?”

“What the fuck do you think was easy about my mom dying? About constantly being paranoid the same was gonna happen to my dad? That we live in a town that's a literal beacon for all sorts of people and creatures that want to kill us? That I was fucking possessed by some evil fox spirit that would up being the reason one of my best friends die? Nothing about this has been easy, Theo.”

“Then how the hell are you… still you?” Theo asks. “You still make jokes and let things roll off of you.”

Stiles shakes his head, giving him a sardonic smile, “I don’t though. That’s what I want everyone to think, but it’s not easy. Sometimes I still have nightmares about it all. That’s why I was out tonight. But you know what?”

“What?”

“Just because there is all this bad in the world, doesn’t mean there’s not good too, Theo.” Stiles tells him. “You might not hear as much about it because people seem to only ever want to talk about the bad stuff when it happens but completely overlook the good. But it happens. You just have to try and enjoy the little things, Theo. Like riding late at night with boys that like you and enjoy your company.”

Theo blinks when he hears the barely audible, “And maybe want to kiss you, even when you are an ass,” Stiles mutters under his breath.

“Know any interested parties?” Theo asks. “Though your search for the kissing thing might be a little narrow?”

If Stiles is phased about Theo having heard him he doesn’t show it. Instead he just smirks at Theo, “Why? Because there’s a not a lot of boys that would want to kiss you?”

Theo grins over at him, “No, because there’s only one boy I want to kiss, and ride in cars with late at night. We’ve got one of the two down.”

Stiles blinks at him, his mouth hanging open in shock before he bangs on the dashboard and yells out, “Pull this truck over right now!”

Theo does as he’s asked, shooting a wary glance at Stiles as he does so. He’d thought they might be on the same page. But maybe he was wrong. Maybe…

Theo barely registers the sound of a seat belt being undone and movement to his right before his face is being turned by a gentle hand on his chin. He’s met with honey brown eyes and a bright smile, “I think we should go for two out of two, don’t you?”

Theo stares at him. He knows he wants this. Of course he wants to kiss Stiles. He has for a while now. But he’s trying to figure out how they got to here from snapping at each other in a matter of minutes. When he’d made the comment he’d expected a snort or an eye roll or maybe another punch to the face before they moved on. Not to have Stiles so close and his warm hand on his skin. Then again, it is Stiles and he’s always full of surprises.

“Theo?” Stiles questions, his brow pinching together in concern. “If this isn’t something you want…”

“It is,” Theo assures him. “I’m just processing, that’s all. It’s been a long night.”

“Yeah,” Stiles sighs, leaning back slightly, much to Theo’s displeasure. “We could probably both use some sleep.”

When he goes to move back Theo’s hand shoots out and grabs his waist. Not tightly, but enough to give Stiles pause. “Wait. I… I don’t want to sleep.”

Stiles tilts his head, “You were grumbling about people rudely ruining your sleep when I knocked on the window.”

“Yeah well, that was then,” Theo shrugs. “It’s hard for me to fall back asleep once I’m up so…”

Stiles looks guilty at that, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you.”

Theo shakes his head, “If you hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been long before one of the deputies did.”

“Which is ridiculous,” Stiles says, surprising Theo with how angry he looks. “They find a kid sleeping in his truck and their first instinct is to chase him off?”

“I’m not exactly anyone’s favorite person in this town,” Theo says.

“You could be,” Stiles says softly. Then he shakes his head, “It doesn’t matter. They’re law enforcement. And they’re doing a poor ass job of protecting and serving. I am going to have words with my Dad when I see him.”

“It would be nice to get some sleep without someone chasing me off,” Theo says.

“You’re not going to be sleeping in your truck,” Stiles says, frowning down at him.

“Then where am I supposed to sleep? It’s not as if I have a home.”

“With me,” Stiles says. His eyes widen when he realizes how that must sound and he stammers, trying to fix it. “I just mean you could sleep with me. Not like that! Well… I mean at some point if you want to. But what I mean is you can sleep at my house. In my bed. _A_ bed. You’d be sleeping in an actual bed. It doesn’t have to be mine, unless you want it to be.”

“Well as long as there’s a bed,” Theo says, his lips twitching up in amusement.

“To think 5 minutes ago I was ready to kiss you,” Stiles sighs.

“You still can,” Theo says, giving him a cheeky smile.

“We’ll see how the rest of the night goes,” Stiles tells him, pulling back.

“You don’t want to kiss me?”

“Oh I do,” Stiles says, “I definitely do. But I want to wait for us to get our heads on straight. This is just… we’ve come a long way, Theo. I don’t want to ruin this by rushing things.”

“It means something,” Theo whispers, not even meaning to say the words. He’s just hit with the seriousness of Stiles’ words and what they could mean.

“Well yeah,” Stiles says, his brow furrowing. “Of course it means something. _You_ mean something.”

“You mean something too,” Theo says, the words soft but seeming so loud in the quiet of the truck.

Stiles smiles and grabs Theo’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Now that we’ve established that, let’s get out of here.”

“Where to?”

Stiles shrugs, “Whenever you want to be.”

Theo wants to say that where he wants to be is right here with Stiles, and that no other destination would matter. By the soft smile that graces Stiles’ lips, and the soft way his thumb traces across Theo’s knuckles, he thinks Stiles knows.

Theo puts the car into drive and heads down the road. Stiles doesn’t say anything when they reach the town line and Theo keeps going. He just squeezes Theo’s hand and continues to gaze out the half open window. His skin is almost glowing in the moonlight and his hair is blowing from the slight breeze coming into the car. He doesn’t seem to mind. He just rolls the window down further and tilts his head up and closes his eyes, a wide smile appearing on his face.

“You better be keeping your eyes on the road,” he says, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“I am,” Theo says, reluctantly looking away from Stiles.

This late, this roads are all but empty. But he still doesn’t want to wind up in a ditch or hitting a telephone pole. When he glances back a while later, Stiles’ head is resting against the back of the seat. His breathing is even and soft and Theo knows he must be sleeping. He debates on whether he should keep going. Something tells him Stiles wouldn’t mind. He told him to live after all. To live and take late night rides with boys that like him. Stiles had said this means something to him, but he’d also needed time to think on it. What if he’s changed his mind and wakes up hours from home?

“Stop overthinking it,” Stiles mutters, drawing his attention back to him. He’s peeking at him with one eye open. “I know you’re over there wondering if you should turn around, and I’m telling you not to. Nothing is going to change. So keep driving.”

Theo does. Later when they stop to watch the sunrise while sitting on the hood of Theo’s truck, their recently purchased coffee in their hands, Stiles leans in and kisses him on the cheek. Theo turns to him to see his eyes moving across his face and Theo knows he’s waiting. Theo puts his coffee down next to him, not caring when he misses and it winds up on the ground. He has more important things to worry about. Things like living in the moment, and kissing a boy that likes him on the side of the road as they watch the sunrise.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos/Comments make my day. ♥  
> [My tumblr](http://tabbytabbytabby.tumblr.com/)


End file.
